"Obama, 54, will compete as an independent candidate during the March 4 national elections, he told a public gathering yesterday in Kogelo, about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of the capital, Nairobi. Obama, who shares the same father as the U.S. president, said he will use his relationship with his half brother to address issues such as poverty and unemployment. ...

"Kenya's elections in March will be the first since 2007, when a dispute over the outcome triggered ethnic fighting in which more than 1,100 people died and at least 350,000 more were forced to flee their homes."